I Got a Job Two Weeks After My Coding Bootcamp | Hacker News Reader

I Got a Job Two Weeks After My Coding Bootcamp

letterstoanewdeveloper.com

13 pointsmooreds16 comments

It took me about 3 months.

The takeaway I think that is valuable for this article is for new folks to find a place that matches their skills / can use them.

A place doing super high tech fancy math folding space time stuff ... maybe doesn't have time for a new guy, even if they think they do. A place that has time to show them the ropes and work that they can DO, that's a good place to start.

Anyone that after a coding bootcamp call themselves senior software engineer... I would have my doubts.

Well the article says it was initially published elsewhere... although the date on that article is just feb 2020...

Still maybe he is writing about the distant past?

The author became a senior engineer (earned the senior engineer title) after a couple of years on the job, not immediately after the bootcamp. More here: https://randallkanna.com/about/

She got a job two weeks after the bootcamp (what the post is about).

Edit: added parenthetical about earning the title.

Is that any less silly?

This looks like SEO spam.

> A few companies had interview processes that were equivalent to Google. They wanted a coding bootcamp graduate to be able to solve complex algorithms that even a software engineer with a CS degree and years of experience would have struggled to complete.

Is this article satire? It seems like this diva wanted to stroll into software development after a 2 week course and have everything handed to her.

The reasoning behind it is smart actually. Instead of focusing on a gruelling coding focused interview, they focused on other interviews where the companies were willing to invest in mentorship on junior devs.

It doesn't specify how long the course was in the article, and based on the fact that the author mentions a portfolio of several applications my best guess is that it's multiple months of bootcamp.

The concept is very simple. A junior dev graduating from a bootcamp can create UI's, CRUD, etc. but should not be expected to have expertise in algorithms.

> The concept is very simple. A junior dev graduating from a bootcamp can create UI's, CRUD, etc. but should not be expected to have expertise in algorithms.

I find the idea that "you should expect less out of bootcamp grads" more harmful than helpful. The stigma of coming from a bootcamp is real in software, and this reinforces it. In my experience, there are certainly bootcamp grads out there who have strong algorithm skills.

I've worked with, taught, amd tutored many Bootcamp and college grads. There is a basic theme, you get out what you put in. This happens in both groups, the later has 4 years instead of 4 months to gain skills.

It is also much easier to teach a CS grad webdev or whatever, than to teach a Bootcamp grad the analytical skills for harder CS concepts. There is also a greater filtering process from CS than BC, I find many who go to Bootcamp not really enthused about the subject, more the salaries.

>there are certainly bootcamp grads out there who have strong algorithm skills

Of course there are some, there's always outliers. Is that the norm though? Are Bootcamps focused on teaching algorithms?

The expectation for Bootcamp grads that are applying to junior dev jobs should be that they aren't experts in algorithms. That's what I stated in my comment. That's great if they have algorithm skills and want to apply to higher level roles, power to them.

You missed the point. The author is telling new bootcamp grads to _avoid_ companies that have algorithm-heavy interview processes because: "I would have spent so much time preparing for just one interview at one company when instead I could use that time to go through the interview process at several companies."

Read the next paragraph.

He notes he passed on those companies whose interview process was like he described as he felt he wasn't a good fit.

They'll be a senior architect by year end.

> Dear new developer,

> Two weeks after I graduated my coding bootcamp, I had an offer. Two weeks after that, I started my first engineering job at a small startup.

> Here are some of the strategies I used.

This is Randall Kenna:

https://randallkanna.com https://testandcode.com/guests/randall-kanna

Look. If you're a woman, you have lots of allies rooting for you to succeed in an industry and profession that's indisputably biased against you.

But especially as a white-presenting woman, maybe have the decency to not flaunt the exorbitant privilege -- not just socioeconomic and racial, but that of the multiple forms of affirmative action offered to you in certain corners -- as if it's a product of your effort or virtue.

This is a close kin to a mediocre white guy.

Appalling tone-deafness.

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